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Rolling cylinder on a
horizontal plane
A Pinto1 and M Fiolhais2
1
High School S Pedro, R Morgado de Mateus, P-5000-455 Vila Real and Physics
Department, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta dos Prados, Ap. 202,
P-5001-911 Vila Real, Portugal
2
Physics Department and Centre for Computational Physics, University of Coimbra,
P-3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
E-mail: apinto@utad.pt, tmanuel@teor.fis.uc.pt

Abstract
A cylinder on a horizontal plane, acted upon by a constant horizontal force,
provides a variety of physical situations, which are helpful for understanding
the behaviour and the role of friction in systems of particles. In our study,
we consider rolling with and without slipping and establish the conditions
for the frictional force to have the direction of the centre-of-mass velocity,
contrary to the common idea that this force is always opposite to motion.
In general, rolling without slipping requires static friction. However, under
some conditions, rolling without slipping may take place even in the absence
of a static frictional force. On the other hand, if the applied force and the
kinetic frictional force fulfil certain relations, a pure translation of the
cylinder may occur. The work done by friction is also discussed.

Introduction be either opposite to or in the same direction as the

Frictional forces are introduced in elementary
Physics courses, even before high school. Usually
one considers a body at rest or in sliding motion,
lying on a table, acted upon by a horizontal external
force of variable magnitude. Students are left with
the idea that the direction of the frictional force
is opposite to the direction of the external force,
whether the body is at rest or in motion under the
action of the force. If the body starts moving,
the direction of its velocity is the direction of the
force and, therefore, the frictional force is opposite
to the velocity. These intuitive ideas, which
are subsequently reinforced using other examples,
are correct if the body may be considered as a
particle (or if there is no rotation). Later on, when
students study systems of particles, some of them
get perplexed with respect to the direction of the
frictional force since static or kinetic friction can
centre-of-mass velocity.
On the other hand, the concept of work is
introduced for a body, regarded as a particle,
in sliding motion. It is clear that the kinetic
frictional force, opposite to the velocity (i.e.
to the displacement), always produces negative
work, while the static frictional force, acting on
a particle, does not produce any work simply
because the particle does not move. In systems
of particles the kinetic friction always produces
(negative) work, and in rolling without slipping
the static frictional force produces no work. The
situation is, therefore, identical to the single
particle case. However, some students again get
surprised by the zero work of a force pointing
in the direction of (or opposite to) the centre-
of-mass motion, which, moreover, contributes to
an increase (or a decrease) in the centre-of-mass
velocity.

250 PHYSICS EDUCATION 0031-9120/01/030250+05$30.00 © 2001 IOP Publishing Ltd


These difficulties have merited special
attention by quite a few authors. In this vein, we
report here a systematic study of a rigid cylinder
rolling on a horizontal surface, acted upon by a
constant horizontal force. The system shows up
various situations, which have been very useful
in helping our students to understand the subtle
differences between the behaviour of the frictional
force in systems of particles and for just one
particle, and this motivated this work. Let us
briefly mention the main ideas of other papers on
the issue of the direction of the frictional force and
on the work done by this force.
Shaw (1979) proposed an experiment using a
cylinder that rolls without slipping on a horizontal
surface. The magnitude and the direction of
the frictional force are determined experimentally.
Our study contains the situation described by
Shaw, but we also study the motion with slipping.
Salazar et al (1990) claimed that situations
where the frictional force and the centre-of-mass
velocity have a common direction are considered
paradoxical by some students. They used two
examples illustrating that friction may be opposed
to or in the direction of the centre-of-mass. In
particular, a sphere rolling without slipping is
considered to discuss the ‘apparent paradox’ of the
friction being in the same direction as the centre-
of-mass velocity.
McClelland (1991) suggested that the word
‘friction’ should be applied only in situations
where the contacting solid surfaces are in relative
motion. If such motion does not occur, he
proposed that such interaction be called ‘shear
adhesion’. These considerations are pertinent but
they do not explain the direction of friction.
Regarding the work of the frictional force,
a study by Carnero et al (1993) was based on
the pseudowork–energy theorem. They showed
that the frictional force produces translation and
rolling work with opposite signs, which, therefore,
cancel each other out, and the net work of the static
friction vanishes.
Sousa and Pina (1997) discussed the
dissipation effects in a rolling cylinder, in
connection with the laws of thermodynamics,
concluding that a better physical understanding
is achieved by considering mechanics and
thermodynamics together.
In this article we first present a systematic
study of the motion of a cylinder on a horizontal
Rolling cylinder on a horizontal plane
plane, with emphasis on the direction of the
frictional force, then we briefly comment on the
work done by friction, and finally we present our
conclusions.
The direction of the frictional force
Let us consider a rigid, homogeneous cylinder
with mass m and radius R, lying on a rigid and
horizontal surface, as shown in figure 1. The
velocity of the contact point, vP , and the velocity
of the centre-of-mass, vC , are related by
vP = vC + ω × R (1)
where ω is the angular velocity with respect to the
axis of the cylinder and R is the position vector of
point P relative to the centre-of-mass. The angular
velocity is ω = ωêz with ω > 0 if the cylinder
rotates clockwise (êz points inward, relative to the
plane of the figure). Projecting equation (1) along
the direction of x, one gets
vP = vC − ωR. (2)
When the velocity of the contact point P is
zero, vP = 0, one has pure rolling and, from
equation (2), one gets the condition for rolling
without slipping:
vC = ωR (3)
while the condition for rolling with slipping can
be expressed either by vP = 0 or by
vC = ωR. (4)
We assume that a constant horizontal force,
F , is applied to the cylinder, at a certain height,
h, as shown in figure 1. The cylinder moves on
a horizontal plane acted upon by this force and
by the frictional force, f , generated at the contact
Figure 1. Cylinder on a horizontal plane acted upon
by the force F and friction f (which is tentatively
represented pointing to the right). The weight and the
normal reaction, which are equal in magnitude and
have opposite directions, are not shown.
PHYSICS EDUCATION 251
A Pinto and M Fiolhais

points between the cylinder and the horizontal

surface, which tentatively points as indicated in
figure 1. Only a detailed analysis will allow us
to determine whether the direction of that force
is the indicated one or not. We also assume
that friction (static or kinetic) is independent of
the magnitude of the velocity, so that both the
centre-of-mass acceleration, aC , and the angular
acceleration, α, are constants. Assuming that the
cylinder is initially at rest, i.e. ω(t = 0) = 0 and
vC (t = 0) = 0, in general, at any t,
Figure 2. The value of the frictional force in the case
vC aC of rolling without slipping. Depending on the height, h
= . (5)
ωR αR (see figure 1), f may be positive, negative or zero.

The (projected) equations of motion are

example and this result to be of great pedagogical
F + f = maC (6) value since they show how subtle is the direction of
the frictional force for a system of particles (a rigid
F (h − R) − f R = 21 mR 2 α (7) body in our case). Somehow a common idea is that
frictional forces are opposed to the motion. This
where 21 mR 2 is the moment of inertia of the
is certainly true for a particle (or a body in pure
cylinder relative to its axis, F > 0 and f may be
translation, which may be regarded as a particle).
positive, negative or zero. These equations may
In the example studied above, the direction of the
still be written as
frictional force behaves according to that idea only
F +f for 0
h < 23 R. It is worth noticing that there is a
aC = (8)
m value h (which depends on the moment of inertia of
the rolling body) for which the body always rolls
2
αR = [F (h − R) − f R]. (9) without slipping, irrespective of the value of the
mR friction coefficient. Actually, for h = 23 R, in the
Depending on the velocity of P, the friction may be case of the cylinder, one has always f = 0 for any
static (vP = 0) or kinetic (vP = 0). Let us analyse F . Hence, the existence of a static frictional force
these two cases. is not a necessary condition for the occurrence of
rolling without slipping. For h < 23 R the static
Case 1: rolling without slipping frictional force prevents the body from having
The coefficient of static friction is supposed to be larger accelerations when F is applied (as for the
large enough to ensure rolling without slipping, single particle) but for h > 23 R the static frictional
and condition (3) is fulfilled. Inserting that force also contributes to increasing the velocity of
equation into equation (5) yields aC = αR. the centre-of-mass.
Using this expression in equation (8) and taking The static frictional force has a maximal
equation (9), one arrives at the following relation value: |f |
µmg, where µ is the coefficient
between the static friction, the applied force and of static friction. Therefore, in order to guarantee
the geometrical parameters h and R: rolling without slipping, one should have

  
F  2h 
f =F
2h
−1 . (10) µ  − 1 (11)
3R mg 3R

Figure 2 shows this function. where use has been made of equation (10). If
In the range 0
h < 23 R the frictional force  
F  2h 
is negative, i.e. it points in the opposite direction to µ<  − 1 (12)
that shown in figure 1. It vanishes for h = 23 R and mg 3R
it becomes positive, i.e. pointing as in figure 1, the cylinder slips (and rolls) under the action of
in the range 23 R < h
2R. We consider this force F .

252 PHYSICS EDUCATION

 Rolling cylinder on a horizontal plane

Table 1. Qualitative values of the velocity of the contact point, vP , and of the frictional force, f , for the rolling
cylinder, originally at rest, acted upon by a constant horizontal force, F , applied at different heights, h.
Case 1: rolling without slipping 0
h < 23 R vP = 0 f <0
 
F  2h 
 h = 23 R vP = 0 f =0
µ  − 1 
mg 3R 3
R < h
2R vP = 0 f >0
2

Case 2: rolling and slipping 0
h< 3

R vP > 0 f
0
  2
F  2h 
 h = 23 R vP = 0 f =0
µ<  − 1 
mg 3R 3
R < h
2R vP < 0 f 0
2

Case 2: rolling and slipping ω = 0 in equation (5) implies α = 0. Using this

We turn now to the case vP = 0, i.e. we suppose
rolling with slipping. This happens when the static
friction coefficient does not satisfy equation (11).
We may have aC > αR, for vP > 0, or aC < αR,
for vP < 0 (see equations (2), (4) and (5)).
In the first situation, aC > αR, and from the
definition of the (kinetic) frictional force,
f
0
since the velocity of point P is positive, i.e. the
point represented in figure 1 moves to the right
(the equality in (13) holds for frictionless motion).
On the other hand, using aC > αR in equations
(8) and (9), one finds


2h
f >F −1 . (14)
3R
Inequalities (13) and (14) are met simultaneously
for heights in the range
0
h < 23 R.
In the second situation, vP < 0, and therefore
f  0 (again the equality holds for frictionless
motion). From aC < αR and using the same
reasoning that led to (15), one finds
3
2
R < h
2R.
For h = 23 R one has frictionless motion (f = 0)
with vP = 0, and one has case 1.
Table 1 summarizes the results for the two
cases.
In cases 1 and 2, rolling may take place
even with a vanishing frictional force (if h =
3
2
R). Curiously enough, friction may exist and,
nevertheless, motion without rolling may occur,
that is, we may have vC = vP > 0 and ω = 0,
which is a particular situation of case 2. Imposing
result in equation (9), one arrives at


h
f =F −1
R
and, since f
0, the height ought to be h
R.
This is a necessary condition for the motion to be
a pure translation. On the other hand, if the kinetic
(13) frictional force is written as |f | = µk mg, where
µk is the kinetic friction coefficient, then in order
to have translation without rotation, one should
have

F h
µk = 1− .
mg R
This value is compatible with (12), since it is
always smaller than the maximal static friction
coefficient.
One may wonder whether the force F may
produce a pure rotation of the cylinder. From
equation (8) this would imply f = −F and a
negative f would, in turn, imply vP  0. However,
(15) inserting f = −F into equation (9) yields an
angular acceleration α > 0, meaning that the
cylinder would rotate clockwise around its axis,
i.e. vP < 0. This contradiction in the sign of vP
means that such a motion can never happen.
(16) The work of the frictional force on the
rolling cylinder
The elementary work of a force f applied on a
particle which is displaced by dr is
δW = f · dr . (17)
In the case of rolling, one is dealing with a system
of particles and a difficulty arises in applying
equation (17) to the frictional force since f is not
always applied to the same particle. The issue of
the work done by the static force has motivated

PHYSICS EDUCATION 253

 A Pinto and M Fiolhais
several interesting discussions in the pedagogical
literature.
The ‘centre-of-mass’ equation (Benson 1996),
which relates the pseudowork with the variation of
kinetic energy (and the ‘rotation centre-of-mass
equation’), is, of course, an appropriate tool to
study rigid bodies. Using it one concludes that
the static friction produces zero net work, irrespec-
tive of its direction. Considering a cylinder rolling
down an incline (without slipping), Carnero et al
showed that the pseudowork done by the frictional
force associated with the translation of the centre-
of-mass is equal in magnitude but has the opposite
sign to the pseudowork associated with the torque
produced by friction relative to the centre-of-mass.
When the force is not applied to the same
particle, Bruhat (1967) claims that the following
definition of infinitesimal work
δW = f · v dt (18)
is more appropriate, v being the velocity of the
particle acted upon by force f . Considering
the work of the frictional force in the example
discussed earlier, in (18) f is the frictional force
and one should replace v by vP in that equation.
Whenever rolling occurs without slipping, vP = 0
(see table 1) and (18) gives zero elementary work.
Therefore the total work is also zero. If slippage
occurs, the directions of vP and f (now a kinetic
frictional force) are opposite (see table 1) and the
elementary work given by (18) is always negative.
The total work of the kinetic friction is negative,
preventing the total kinetic energy of the cylinder
from increasing as it would if F were the only
horizontal force producing work. Associated with
slipping motion, there is dissipative work, whose
effect is to increase the temperature of the cylinder
and/or plane. We refer the reader to the interesting
discussion by Sousa and Pina (1997) on the work
of the frictional force in rolling cylinders and its
relation with the laws of thermodynamics.
Conclusions
The direction of the frictional force on a rigid body
can be either the direction of the centre-of-mass
velocity or the opposite one. Moreover, that force
may not do any work, although the centre-of-mass
of the system may move.
These results can only be observed in systems
of particles. However, the concepts of friction and
254 PHYSICS EDUCATION
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work are introduced for just a single particle and,
in that case, these results never happen. Only to
this extent can the mentioned results be considered
surprising, and, in fact, to some students they are!
Clearly, if a body has only sliding motion (no
rotation) the study of its motion reduces to the
study of its centre-of-mass motion. As long as
rotations take place, the analysis of the frictional
force and the work it does requires a detailed
knowledge of the motion of the particle(s) where
the frictional force(s) is (are) applied.
The rolling cylinder on a horizontal plane,
acted upon by a constant horizontal force, shows
a variety of situations, which we found most
clarifying with regard to the subtleties of the
direction of the friction and the work done by that
force.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank B Lopes and J Morais
for fruitful discussions. We are also grateful to
P Alberto, L Brito, C Fiolhais and C Sousa for a
critical reading of the manuscript.
Received 23 January 2001
PII: S0031-9120(01)21263-5
References
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Bruhat G 1967 Mécanique 6th edn (Paris: Masson)
Carnero C, Aguiar J and Hierrezuelo J 1993 The work
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McClelland J A G 1991 Friction and related
phenomena Phys. Educ. 26 234–7
Salazar A, Sánchez-Lavega A and Arriandiaga M A
1990 Is the frictional force always opposed to the
motion? Phys. Educ. 25 82–5
Shaw D E 1979 Frictional force on rolling objects
Am. J. Phys. 47 887–8
Sousa C A and Pina E P 1997 Aspects of mechanics
and thermodynamics in introductory physics: an
illustration in the context of friction and rolling
Eur. J. Phys. 18 334–7
Afonso Pinto graduated in Physics in 1981 at the University
of Coimbra, Portugal. He is a High School Teacher and
Assistant Professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes e
Alto Douro, where he is involved in the training of teachers.
Manuel Fiolhais obtained a PhD degree from the University
of Coimbra in 1988. He is Associate Professor at that
university and Researcher in the field of hadron physics.